EU inadvertently destroys wildflower meadows

Discussion in 'Herbs and Wildflowers' started by Phil A, Sep 3, 2014.

  1. Phil A

    Phil A Guest

    Ratings:
    +0
    • Agree Agree x 4
    • Jiffy

      Jiffy The Match is on Fire

      Joined:
      Aug 25, 2011
      Messages:
      11,166
      Occupation:
      Pyro
      Location:
      Retired Next To The Bonfire in UK
      Ratings:
      +31,454
      I thought that people cared about the countryside, only when money is in the pocket
       
      • Agree Agree x 2
      • Lolimac

        Lolimac Guest

        Ratings:
        +0
        Pillocks:rolleyespink:
         
        • Agree Agree x 5
        • Phil A

          Phil A Guest

          Ratings:
          +0
          Reminds me of an historic ceiling that would have cost thousands to conserve on a castle I was working on in Bristol.

          It mysteriously collapsed overnight :th scifD36:
           
          • Informative Informative x 3
          • Marley Farley

            Marley Farley Affable Admin! Staff Member

            Joined:
            May 11, 2005
            Messages:
            30,589
            Occupation:
            Grandmother Gardener Councillor Homemaker
            Location:
            Under the Edge Zone 8b
            Ratings:
            +14,123
            Strange a similar thing happened to a beautiful stately family home.. Only it was fire here... Now beautifully restored and an Hotel.. Still has the arboretum and the beautiful gardens though...

            What we are doing to out countryside these days is horrific..!! :mad:
            We have an organic farm nearby who have a brilliant way of doing things.. They sow a swathe around their crop fields of wildflowers and moon daisies.. Lovely to look at when you pass by, plus the wildlife attracted by it is marvellous to see..
             
            • Like Like x 4
            • Jiffy

              Jiffy The Match is on Fire

              Joined:
              Aug 25, 2011
              Messages:
              11,166
              Occupation:
              Pyro
              Location:
              Retired Next To The Bonfire in UK
              Ratings:
              +31,454
              Yes
              :th scifD36::th scifD36::th scifD36::th scifD36::th scifD36::th scifD36::th scifD36::th scifD36::th scifD36::th scifD36::th scifD36::dbgrtmb::dbgrtmb::whistle:
               
              • Like Like x 1
                Last edited: Sep 3, 2014
              • clueless1

                clueless1 member... yep, that's what I am:)

                Joined:
                Jan 8, 2008
                Messages:
                17,778
                Gender:
                Male
                Location:
                Here
                Ratings:
                +19,594
                When I lived in Sheffield, there was a patch of wasteland right close to the city centre. It was full of wildflowers and grasses.

                A property developer bought it, and then applied for planning permission to build flats on it. He was told no, the reason publicly given was that it was full of wildflowers and provided a habitat for wildlife in a challenging urban environment. Fair enough. I don't always agree with planning officers, but I think they got that one right.

                Then one night, quite literally, at night, according to local witnesses (in was in our local community news mag), diggers moved it after dark. By morning the diggers were gone, and so were the wildflowers. Now the site was just mud.

                An appeal against the earlier planning refusal was made, it was shown that the land offered no community or environmental interest, and planning permission was granted.
                 
                • Informative Informative x 1
                • pete

                  pete Growing a bit of this and a bit of that....

                  Joined:
                  Jan 9, 2005
                  Messages:
                  47,695
                  Gender:
                  Male
                  Occupation:
                  Retired
                  Location:
                  Mid Kent
                  Ratings:
                  +84,313
                  I've come across the reverse of what most of you are saying.
                  The council park where I sometimes go, not as often as I used to, was always a bit rough but it had some close mowed areas for the public to sit and have picnics etc.

                  Since spending a lottery grant on the place and putting in concrete paths, along with lots of events, loud music, hoards of bikes and jogging groups with personal trainers shouting out commands, the majority of the place is supposed to be a wild life haven.

                  This is just a way of saying they are not going to cut the grass anymore, in certain areas, which are now no go areas as they have been overtaken by brambles thistles and nettles.

                  I wouldn't mind if they were to cut paths through the so called "wild flower meadows", but they dont, its just a way of neglecting large areas and pretending its for wildlife.
                   
                  • Agree Agree x 1
                  • noisette47

                    noisette47 Total Gardener

                    Joined:
                    Jan 25, 2013
                    Messages:
                    5,861
                    Gender:
                    Female
                    Location:
                    Lot-et-Garonne, Aquitaine
                    Ratings:
                    +13,957
                    The same thing happened with hedgerows about ten years ago. A new, stricter law on preserving them was in the offing, so what did the farmers do? Yep....rooted out miles and miles of hedgerows dividing the fields. So why is the EU getting the blame?:scratch: Apart from the stupidity of leaking the imminent legislation before it's passed, can't see that it's anyone's fault but the farmers:sofa:
                     
                  • Jiffy

                    Jiffy The Match is on Fire

                    Joined:
                    Aug 25, 2011
                    Messages:
                    11,166
                    Occupation:
                    Pyro
                    Location:
                    Retired Next To The Bonfire in UK
                    Ratings:
                    +31,454
                    Farmers got paid to take out the hedges and drain the fields by the tax payer, Farmers had been paid to plant wild flower meadows and to plant trees then when the trees are felled you have the income tax free,
                     
                    • Informative Informative x 1
                      Last edited: Sep 3, 2014
                    • noisette47

                      noisette47 Total Gardener

                      Joined:
                      Jan 25, 2013
                      Messages:
                      5,861
                      Gender:
                      Female
                      Location:
                      Lot-et-Garonne, Aquitaine
                      Ratings:
                      +13,957
                      As I remember it, Jiffy, it was exactly the same scenario as the one in the OP. The farmers got wind of stricter legislation and acted very quickly to forestall it. No doubt it's one way of ensuring that they can't be dictated to by the EU, but rather self-defeating really.
                       
                    • clueless1

                      clueless1 member... yep, that's what I am:)

                      Joined:
                      Jan 8, 2008
                      Messages:
                      17,778
                      Gender:
                      Male
                      Location:
                      Here
                      Ratings:
                      +19,594
                      Seems to me that the farmers always get the blame. Townies often hold farmers to be 'rich landowners', but the few I know all tell me the same. Their margins are so low that without subsidies they would simply go under. So they do whatever they get paid to do. In the past that has meant ripping out hedgerows so they can fit in more of a particular crop, or planting new trees because there was an idea that day, or then tearing out those trees because another day someone decided to open up the land again. I seem to recall last year the farmers got the blame for all the flooding, because they'd done as they'd been told to do previously by clearing the land.
                       
                      • Agree Agree x 2
                      • pete

                        pete Growing a bit of this and a bit of that....

                        Joined:
                        Jan 9, 2005
                        Messages:
                        47,695
                        Gender:
                        Male
                        Occupation:
                        Retired
                        Location:
                        Mid Kent
                        Ratings:
                        +84,313
                        I must admit farmers a damned if they do and damned if they dont.


                        They cant win, but then who can, the politicians change their tune so often, as for the Brussels bunch, they have got to come up with something all the time, just to justify its existence.

                        Surely any farmer who has maintained a real wild flower meadow on his property is not likely to plough it up just because of this.
                        Real flower meadows are not just a field with a few poppies.
                         
                      • noisette47

                        noisette47 Total Gardener

                        Joined:
                        Jan 25, 2013
                        Messages:
                        5,861
                        Gender:
                        Female
                        Location:
                        Lot-et-Garonne, Aquitaine
                        Ratings:
                        +13,957
                        Don't get me wrong, Clue....my best friends are farmers! Unfortunately, staying afloat and/or making a living are often incompatible with concerns for the environment. That is exacerbated by rulings and policies from bureaucrats at all levels.
                         
                        • Agree Agree x 1
                        • Scrungee

                          Scrungee Well known for it

                          Joined:
                          Dec 5, 2010
                          Messages:
                          16,524
                          Location:
                          Central England on heavy clay soil
                          Ratings:
                          +28,996
                          Yesterday I took Mrs Scrungee to see the masses of wild flowers and butterflies at the chalk pits we'd visit for family picnics when I was a child. They were off the footpath and we'd need to squeeze through hawthorn bushes beside the path and that made it unusual to see anybody else there.

                          The County Council have made it a 'Nature Reserve', they have cut down all the surrounding scrub to open it up, made pathways through it, 'interpretation' signage is everywhere informing one that it is now the subject of a 'management plan'.

                          And it's been wrecked. It's been turned BMX track by the local kids, it's covered in nettles, thistles and other weeds (apart from the bike eroded areas), and there wasn't a single wild flower anywhere. I wish I'd never gone back.
                           
                        Loading...

                        Share This Page

                        1. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
                          By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
                          Dismiss Notice